Cable wiper



Aug. 23, 1966 c. w. TURBYFILL 3,268,008

CABLE WI PER Original Filed Sept. 27, 1963 (bar/e: W/flmm Turyffl/ INVENTOR.

A7 7' ORA 15' KS United States 3,268,008 CABLE WIPER Charles W. Turbyfill, Marshall, Tex., assignor to Pathfinder Oil Tool Co., a corporation of Texas Continuation of application Ser. No. 312,019, Sept. 27, 1963. This application Apr. 7, 1965, Ser. No. 446,317 7 Claims. (Cl. 166-173) The present invent is a continuation of my prior copending application Serial No. 312,019, filed September 27, 1963, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to an improvement in cable wipers for well bores.

During well drilling operations, the well bore is kept filled with drilling mud or drilling fluid which is circulated down through the drilling string and into the surrounding well bore and then circulated back to the earth's surface during drilling operations; The drilling muds or fluids accomplish several objectives including lubrication of the drilling bit carrying formation cuttings out of the well to the earths surface and other functions.

It is not uncommon during the drilling operation for the drilling fiuid to form a mud cake on the well bore wall, and it is desirable prior to cementing the production string of pipe in place to remove the mud cake from the well bore in order to obtain under present conditions what is considered to be a good cementing job.

Several devices have been proposed and are in use at the present time for accomplishing such result.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device that may be secured to well pipe so that when the well pipe is reciprocated or rotated within the well bore, the mud cake is removed from the well bore wall.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device for removing mud cake from a well bore wall without substantially restricting the annulus surrounding the pipe on which the device is mounted.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device for cleaning a well bore wall of mud cake wherein a plurality of loops are carried on a member, the loops being spaced relative to each other to inhibit contact during rotation or reciprocation and thereby inhibit one loop from contacting the filter cake during rotation or reciprocation of the device on the well pipe.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from a consideration of the following description and drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one form of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the form of the invention shown in FIG. 1 and shows the overlying or overlapping relationship of portions of cable loops even though the cable loops are spaced from each other;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating an alternate method of forming the cable loops from separate cable portions and a means for securing the separate cable portions on the support member; and

FIG. 4 shows the present invention mounted on a strip support member in lieu of the annular collar as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Attention is first directed to FIG. 1 of the drawings wherein a support member is illustrated by the numeral 5 and is shown as being in the form of an annular collar 6. The collar, if desired, may be suitably hinged as illustrated at 7 and may be provided with a removable pin to enable the annular collar 6 to be spread apart, or if desired, the pin may be permanently secured in position in the hinge to form a continuous annular collar.

The annular collar 6 is provided with a pair of spaced rows of openings referred to generally by the numerals 9 and 10, respectively. Thus, each row of openings is in a different plane in the support member. Of course, the

3,268,008 Patented August 23, 1966 ice openings in each row are shown as being aligned circumferentially; but the openings in each row may be offset from each other and not aligned circumferentially without departing from the scope of the present invention. It will be noted that the openings 9a are circumferentially spaced relative to the next adjacent opening 9a in the row 9; and similarly, the openings 10a are spaced circumferentially from the next adjacent opening 10a in row 10.

The openings 9a and 10a in each row 9 and 10 are of suitable size for receiving a cable therethrough; and as illustrated in FIG. 1, the cable 12 may be fed through the opening 9a in row 9 and its other end then fed through the opening 10a in row 10 to form the cable loop 13. The cable 12 is flexible but is of sufficient rigidity to engage and flex while wiping the well bore in a manner well known in the art.

In FIG. 1 of the drawings, the cable loops 13 are illustrated as being formed of a single continuous length of cable and are formed by lacing the cable 12 from an opening such as that at 9a in row 9 to the next adjacent opening 10a in row 10 and is fed through the inner sur face of collar 6 to exit the next opening 9a in row 9, then to the next opening 10a and so on around the collar 6 to form the plurality of cable loops 13.

It will also be noted that the openings 9a in the row of openings 9 are circumferentially otfset relative to the openings 10a in the row of openings 10 so that each cable loop 13 is provided with a portion 14 as better illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings which overlies or overlaps the portion 14 of the next adjacent loop 13. However, it is to be noted that the arrangement of the spaced rows of openings 9 and 10 is such that although the loops 13 overlie or overlap, the cable loops 13 extend about the annular collar 6 in the same direction and are preferably inclined at substantially the same angle relative to the axis of the annular collar '6.

In order to secure the cable 12 in position and retain the loops 13 as formed as illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings, suitable means for holding the cable 12 is provided, such means being shown as the holders 18 which are formed by cutting windows in the collar 6 and bending the holders to clamp around the cable 12 on the inside of the collar 6 as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings.

If desired, a plurality ,of separate pieces of cable 12 could be employed so that each loop 13 is formed from a separate piece of cable 12; and if desired in this instance, the form of the invention shown in FIG. 3 could be employed wherein the holders 18d are formed by cutting windows in a collar 6 as previously discussed with regard to FIG. 1 and the ends 12d of each of the cables received beneath the holders 18d whereupon the holders 18d may be bent into clamping position with the cable ends and thereby hold them in place.

In FIG. 4, there is shown a form of the invention adapted to be used when the well pipe is to be reciprocated to clean the mud cake from the well bore wall, and in this form of the invention, the support member comprises a strip of material 20 adapted to be secured longitudinally on well pipe by any suitable means well known in the art. A pair of spaced rows of openings 9 and 10 is again formed in the support member 20, and the cable 12 is extended from the openings in one row to the openings in the next row so as to form the loops 13 that lie in an inclined plane relative to the axis of the support member 20. Also, it will be noted that the portions 14 of each cable loop 13 overlap the next adjacent portion 14 of the next adjacent cable loop 13 in a manner as described with regard to the form of the invention shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings.

While it is believed apparent, the operation of the present invention is as follows. If the annular collar form of the invention shown in FIG. 1 is to be used, whether it is hinged or a continuous annular collar, it is secured on the well pipe by any means well known in the art. Thereupon, the well pipe is reciprocated and the loops engage the adjacent well bore wall and wipe the mud cake therefrom. Since the loops 13 are not in contact when originally formed on the support member 6, the possibility of their contact during operation of the device is greatly lessened, thereby reducing the interference of one cable loop 13 with the other as the device is reciprocated in the well bore. Also, since the cable loops 13 of the present invention do not generally contact during operation of the device, restriction of the annulus of the well bore is greatly reduced.

Similarly, when the form of the device shown in FIG. 4 is to be used, it is secured to the well pipe by means well known in the art and forming no part of the present invention; and rotation of the well pipe effects wiping of the well bore wall by the cable loops 13 in a manner as described above with regard to the form of the invention shown in FIG. 1.

Preferably, the cable loops 13 are inclined on the support member 6 or the support member 20 at substantially the same angle although in some instances this may be varied without departing from the scope of the present invention. The spacing of the rows of openings 9 and 10 resulting in the positioning of the cable loops 13 and the adjacent overlying or overlapping portion 14 of adjacent cable loops is such that interference between adjacent loops is greatly lessened and flow restriction in the annulus is in turn thereby lessened.

Broadly, the present invention relates to a cable wiping device, and more particularly, to a device wherein cable loops are arranged at an angle relative to the axis of a support member to provide a construction wherein adjacent cable loops overlap without contacting each other.

What is claimed is:

1. A well borewiper comprising:

(a) a support member adapted to be secured to a well (b) there being a pair of rows of openings in said member,

(0) each of said rows of openings lying in different planes in said support member,

(d) a cable extending from an opening in one of said rows to the next adjacent opening in the other row of openings to form a loop extending at an angle relative to the axis of said support member,

(e) a plurality of cable loops carried by said support member, each of which is inclined in the same direction on said support member,

(f) means for securing said cable extending through said openings to retain said loops formed on said member, and

(g) said cable loops each having a portion spaced from and overlying the next adjacent cable loop.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said support member is an annular collar. v

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said support member is a hinged annular collar.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said support mem her is a strip for extending generally longitudinally of the well pipe.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein said cable loops are formed from one length of cable.

6. The invention of claim 1 wherein said cable loops are formed from separate pieces of cable.

7. The invention of claim 1 wherein said cable loops are all inclined at the same angle relative to the axis of said support member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,433,955 1/1948 Meynig 166-170 2,868,298 1/1959 Gist 166-173 2,893,494 7/1959 McDufiie 166-441 3,120,271 2/ 1964 Hall 4...- 166-172 CHARLES E. O'CONNELL, Primary Examiner.

J. A. LEPPINK, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A WELL BORE WIPER COMPRISING: (A) A SUPPORT MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO A WELL PIPE, (B) THERE BEING A PAIR OF ROWS OF OPENINGS IN SAID MEMBER, (C) EACH OF SAID ROWS OF OPENINGS LYING IN DIFFERENT PLANES IN SAID SUPPORT MEMBER, (D) A CABLE EXTENDING FROM AN OPENING IN ONE OF SAID ROWS TO THE NEXT ADJACENT OPENING IN THE OTHER ROW OF OPENINGS TO FORM A LOOP EXTENDING AT AN ANGLE RELATIVE TO THE AXIS OF SAID SUPPORT MEMBER, (E) A PLURALITY OF CABLE LOOPS CARRIED BY SAID SUPPORT MEMBER, EACH OF WHICH IS INCLINED IN THE SAME DIRECTION ON SAID SUPPORT MEMBER, 